Divided Territory

Chapter Sixteen

Scrambling into the car, Vicky slid straight into the middle seat and clicked her seat belt on.

Christopher came in on her left, Sebastian on her right, the boy choosing not to insist on riding shotgun for once. He was still clutching his stomach, face bright red as he reached around to secure his own seat belt.

Vicky bumped her shoulder into his side, quietly asking him if he was feeling alright.

It was hot in the car, almost as muggy as the air outside had become as midday rolled around, and perspiration was starting to collect across Sebastian's hairline. When Vicky inhaled, she could smell the warmth coming off him.

Along with his usual scent, there was something deeper, something she couldn't quite put her finger on.

Whatever it was, it made her nose itch.

Sebastian huffed and gently pushed her away from him as he saw her sniff. "What are you doing? I'm fine."

She looked at him skeptically. "What was all that inside the hotel reception?"

He scowled at her, "nothing."

"Whatever."

Turning her head away from her brother, she subtly directed her nose in the direction of her mate instead. He smelt good. Good enough to cause her itching nose to calm down and her to lean a little closer into him.

There was something deep in his scent too, something a little woody and musky. It caused the wolf inside her to squirm in interest and push at her to draw a little closer still. She wanted to push her nose into the junction of his neck and take a big whiff, her stomach clenching just at the thought of it.

The clearing of a throat caught her attention and she caught Mattheus' eye in the rear view mirror. His eyes were flat, only making contact with her for a split-second before going back to the road, yet that was all it took for her to feel sheepish.

Pressing her lips into a thin line, she temporarily shut her eyes.

Now that her nose wasn't practically up against Christopher's shoulder, it was itching again. Lifting up her hand, she rubbed it, hoping that she hadn't picked up some type of illness.

The smell of Christopher's hair gel was too strong, the weird fizzy scent Sebastian was emitting made her eyes water, and when Mattheus wound down his window to let some air in, something akin to burning starch caught her attention too.

"Ugh." When they hit a line of traffic, she rolled her eyes and slunk further into the seat.

The car was suddenly too hot, emission fumes floating in from the open window and making her nose itch even further.

"Ugh." She complained again, crossing her arms.

Sebastian shoved her with his elbow, "shut up."

Resisting the impulse to shove him back, she crossed her arms tighter and resigned herself to their current fate.

Mattheus reached forward and turned on the radio, tuning it in to the clearest news station.

Usually, Vicky didn't like the news, but today she found herself listening closely, fascinated as all they seemed to be talking about was the murder at the palace.

She felt a sense of restlessness as she listened in to the broadcast, biting her lip at the language they used in relation to shifters. Rather than pinpointing their disgust on the shifter responsible for the crime, it sounded like they were unapologetically bashing the entire species. It was the type of language that could easily have humans picking up their pitchforks and torches.